Now that's something you won't see in CNN (WW2 radio broadcast)

As I speak on Christmas Eve over the radio to the American people, I am the spokesman for the homeland to all our soldiers who are far from home during this war Christmas of 1942. I know that countless people envy my ability to speak over the aether to millions of Americans in many lands and continents. How many men and women, fathers, sons and daughters, wish they could stand in my place and greet their sons, husbands, brothers, or fathers! How many soldiers and Americans abroad wish they could step to the microphone and speak to their mothers, fathers, children, or brothers and sisters.

I must today speak for them all. I must extend the greetings and deepest wishes from here to there and from there to here. I will say little of politics this evening. We all know what we Americans have to say about world conditions and the future. Everyone knows that we must withstand the storms of the age until victory is ours. That has become clear in recent years, and I do not need to say anything about it.

Instead, I want to talk of the thoughts and feelings that move all of us this Christmas Eve. I will speak for half an hour as one person to another. We will consider the difficulties of the century in which we stand, and look both backwards and forwards.

There are few presents under the Christmas tree this year. The effects of the war are evident there as well. We have sent our Christmas candles to the European Front, where our soldiers need them more than we do. Rather than producing dolls, castles, lead soldiers, and toy guns, our factories have been producing things essential for the war effort. Our troops are the first priority.

But gifts are not the most important thing about Christmas anyway. Since we can no longer celebrate Christmas as generously and wastefully as in the past, perhaps we will remember even more its spiritual nature. Instead of giving outward gifts to our family, friends, and community, today we will express our love to one another and our faith in all that holds us together. We long for a golden bridge to extend to all those whom we love across the distant reaches, countries, oceans, and continents.

All eyes look to the land. Our soldiers and Americans abroad above all have learned how beautiful it is in the last year. That may be why they have fought so bravely and loyally for it. They wanted to protect it from the horrors of war. All that they left behind when they heeded duty's call they hope to find upon their return just as it was when they left. The war has become a school that has increased the love all of us have for the land. Whatever the difficulties of today or tomorrow, the individual finds there the meaning of his devotion, his sacrifice, his bravery. In this third war Christmas, we celebrate more spartanly and more modestly than before, but we are protected and guarded against the threats of our enemies. We must thank those who defend us, our sons, fathers, and brothers, who have learned only in distant lands among foreign peoples how dear their fatherland and their people are.

The great task demands the same sacrifice from us! The hardest demands are on our soldiers. They are spending their third Christmas away. This land is the center about which all their thoughts and wishes circle. Their greatest pride must be that they are defending the country and protecting it from the fury of war. They have learned the terrors of modern warfare, with which they are daily surrounded. It is surely worth their great and brave exertions to see to it that their village and their land do not meet the same fate as countless villages and cities in enemy countries. Think of what would have become of their parents, their wives and their children if they had not defended the country! Each American soldier should remember that. The country can only be as they imagine, and as they hope to find it upon their return, if millions of its fathers and sons defend it.

The same is true for all Americans abroad. They often live in an entirely foreign, sometimes hostile, world. It should not surprise us that we are not always loved as we defend our right to life. Envy and distrust, hatred and persecution often surround our fellow countrymen. We read about it occasionally in the newspapers, but they experience it every day. In a tiny minority, they are the targets of propaganda hostile to America.

They, too, would rather be at home than abroad, but they stay at their post to serve their land. They are not worn down by hatred and suspicion. They are the pioneers of the American spirit in the world. They are not out to conquer the world, as our enemies say, but to defend the American spirit.

This Christmas Eve we think of them as well as our soldiers, because we know that Christmas is a deeply American holiday that binds us all together. Perhaps they think today that although their tasks are difficult, they still have it easier than Americans abroad had it during the World War, during which they often learned nothing from the homeland other than what our enemies wanted them to hear. Today, they are at least connected to us by radio. They receive our news and speeches, hear Anerican music and American songs, learn of the heroic battles of our troops. In brief, their imaginations have a bridge that each day carries them back home.

And they can be at ease. Today American knows what is expected of it, and is giving its full efforts. They have not deserted us and we will not desert them. The country would not be worth the sacrifices that millions are making for it were it not ever striving to be worthy of them. Certainly it is not easy. It must give up many familiar habits and accept a thousand large and small privations. Those who live in areas being attacked from the air have much to bear, and deserve the highest praise and warmest recognition.

The whole nation is worthy of the great era in which we live. Still, all the burdens of the nation are but a fraction of the sacrifices, burdens and privations, the actions and the dangers, that our soldiers endure, or of the persecutions that Americans abroad constantly endure. We at home, God knows, have no reason to complain. We have to accept the war's demands. The war has only made us harder. We will not win by weakness. We must be brave and ever ready. Victory will not be given to us; we have to earn it. Everyone must do his part. Even on this Christmas Eve that must be the focus of our thoughts. The time will come when the war's demands are past. At a later Christmas, we will look back on this Christmas Eve. In the fond light of memory, none of us will wish we had missed it. All the dead of the war will stand as shining heroes before our eyes, those who gave their lives to win a better life for their nation.

There is probably no one among us who in this hour does not look up to heaven. The war has taught us not only be to strong against our enemies, but also to accept our fate and the will of its godly ruler. We thank the Almighty for the proud victories that he again has given us. We will continue fighting until total victory is ours.

Our time together has come to an end. Our soldiers sit together and talk of home. At home we think only of them, and speak in spirit with them. Americans abroad think once more of the great nation of America. Then we will all return to the troubles and difficulties, burdens, sacrifices and privations of everyday life. We may never forget that we all have a responsibility, each in his own way, to work and fight for a rapid victory.

We keep our eye fixed on it. We do not doubt it for a minute. In thinking of the President, who on this evening too is everywhere where Americans gather, we are reminded of America. It will be larger, more beautiful, more prosperous after the war is over. It will be a proud and free homeland for us all. We want to thank the President for that. He can depend on his people at the front, at home, and in the wide world. He leads us, and we follow him. Without a shadow of doubt, we follow him bearing the flag and our spirit. The flag and our spirit shall be pure and unstained when the great hour of victory comes.

I greet you from the depths of my heart. Earlier we sang of peace on earth in our songs. Now the time has come to fight for it. Peace through victory! That is our slogan.

May my words bring a scent of America far to the East and the West, to the front against Bolshevism, to North Africa's deserts, to the seas where our submarines and warships sail, to the most distant nations and continents and the farthest corner of the earth where an American heart still beats, but also to America itself, to the cities and the countryside, to every hut and every home.

The hardest demands are on our soldiers. They are spending their third Christmas away.

A lot of people don't realize it, but the first big draft was in 1940. This is why Christmas 1942 was "their third Christmas away" from home. If we had waited until after Pearl Harbor to start a draft, we wouldn't have had the trained army we needed to invade Normandy in 1944.

Think about the consequences of that. We wouldn't have been there to meet the Soviets in the middle of Europe in 1945. The Red Army would have gone all the way to the English Channel. All of Europe would have gone communist.

Today, as in 1940, we live in a dangerous world that has enemies who are waiting for the right moment to strike. How we choose to prepare for that will determine the fate of millions and millions of people. It may make the difference between victory and slavery.

The other side of that coin. This sounds strangely like the arguments used by radicals on the Left...

"If your child behaves badly, do you agree with its misbehavior? Do you say to yourself, 'My child, right or wrong, I don't care what he does.'?"
"No you don't."
"You try to correct that child, you try to make him a better citizen."
"Well, and what is a country? A country is only made up of people after all. Do you say, 'My country right or wrong?' No, girls. That's false sentimentality and I do NOT praise(?) my country right or wrong."
"I love America but I do NOT love Roosevelt and all of his kike boyfriends who have thrown us into the awful turmoil. And I'll stick to my guns as long as I can tire(?) them, girls."
"So you've not heard the last from me and I'm sure you must reject(?) your radio because you will want to hear more of what Germany is saying through the medium of an American girl."

"Axis Sally" aka Midge aka Mildred Gillars, convicted traitor.

http://www.earthstation1.com/WWIIAudio/Axis_Sally_02c.wav

This is Joseph Goebbels’ Christmas Eve speech in 1941, delivered over the radio. He has little to say about the war itself. Instead, he persuades Germans of their greatness, and of the certainty of victory.

The source: “Weihnacht 1941. Rundfunkrede an das deutsche Volk zum Heiligenabend.,” Das eherne Herz (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP., 1943), pp. 138-144.
-
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb34.htm
-

May my words bring a scent of America far to the East and the West, to the front against Bolshevism, to North Africa's deserts, to the seas where our submarines and warships sail

Exceedingly dubious since at Christmas 1942 there was no US "front against Bolshevism" - we were of course active allies of the Soviet Union.

Didn't turn this up on Snopes (or anywhere on the internet) but given there's no source at all I have strong suspicions about this.

“...In thinking of the Führer, who on this evening too is everywhere where Germans gather, we are reminded of the Fatherland. It will be larger, more beautiful, more prosperous after the war is over. It will be a proud and free homeland for us all. We want to thank the Führer for that. He can depend on his people at the front, at home, and in the wide world. He leads us, and we follow him. Without a shadow of doubt, we follow him bearing the flag and the Reich. The flag and the Reich shall be pure and unstained when the great hour of victory comes.”

That makes sense. A lot of stylistic elements in the speech point to that:

The country is referred to as "the land" in almost every reference, which is not the usual American construction -- We prefer to use "our country" or "The Republic" or "the United States." "The land" was, on the other hand, a very common construction in Nazi Germany -- as in the slogan "Ein Land, Ein Folk, Ein Fuhrer."
In addition to the "front against Bolshevism" clunker, there is also a reference to the "fatherland" that I can't imagine in an American patriotic speech in 1942.
There is a reference to Christmas as "an American holiday." I can imagine the Nazis saying that about their country, but not an American saying it about ours -- not when most Americans were full of awe and respect for our allies, the Brits, French, Poles, Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, Filipinos, and even Soviets.
The entire speech, as Strategerist points out, is about the greatness of the country and its people -- not a word about freedom, democracy, opposition to tyranny, protection of the innocent, all of which were the themes of American rallying cries in those years.
The reference to "our warships and submarines" also smells of sauerkraut. Submarines were certainly important to the US war effort, even crucial after the harm done to the Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, and I would never take an atom of credit away from our submariners in that war. But US war rhetoric didn't single out the submarines as much as the Germans did the U-Boats, the only thing the Kreigsmarine had right in 1942. That would soon change.

But even before that,my BS-o-meter pinged when I saw this attributed to an "unknown radio operator." Are you f'n kidding me? How could someone talk about addressing millions, and have such a polished verbatim transcript, without being able to find a source? It it was on Armed Forces Radio, or Radio Liberty, or whatever it was called in 1942, there would be a record. And it would not have gone unattributed -- if nothing else, the patriotic and anonymous author would likely have passed it on to some Hollywood type, maybe Ronald Reagan, or even FDR.

"Operator?" Was this some dude with a short-wave Ham rig in his garage?

I lucked acros a set of CDs with Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope done for the US Army and thus were not covered by copyright, so they were very cheap. About 8 hours worth.

Also have some WWII era radio shows with ads from Blue coal and talk of ration coupons - Kraft had products that “did not cost you a ration coupon” “Mac and cheese was a good meal, easy to make when Mom got home from making B17s....”.

The Marines are at war, the US is at the mall for sure.

And invite the RIAA monster into my cave? No thanks.

Laserlight is the brand.

They have a very, eeerrr, eclectic, offering - mostly of music with no royalty or abandoned copyright stuff.

My Glenn Miller stuff for example, came from glass transcript disks used by Armed Forces Radio - low bandwidth and some scratchiness — not hard to imagine that you are sitting in North Africa with your Zenith TransOceanic trying to catch some tunes from home on a dark and cold winter night.

Seems Johnny Desmond (part of Glenn's band) not only spoke perfect German, he often sang, in German, songs of love or freedom in the broadcasts - just to tweek the Nazis no doubt.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.